Conventionally, among electrical connectors, waterproof connectors which prevent water from entering the connecting portion with a mating connector are known. In air bag systems of automobiles an electrical signal is sent to the ignition device to cause an explosion, and the gas generated from the explosion fills the air bag. The wiring which sends the electrical signal in the air bag system is connected to the mating connector on the ignition device through an electrical connector. Recently, air bag devices have come to be installed not only in the steering portion in the interior of automobiles, but also, inside the doors as a curtain air bag or a side air bag. Since condensation or the like is more likely to be formed inside the doors compared with the interior, the connectors used inside the doors needs to be waterproof, which includes being not only “watertight” to prepare for the possibility of water coming in direct contact therewith, but also being “airtight” to prepare for the possibility of dew condensation occurring inside the electrical connectors.
As one of the aforementioned electrical connectors, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a waterproof electrical connector 1 has been proposed in which an outer side of an insulative housing 2 is covered with a body 8 by melt molding in a state in which the insulative housing 2 holds electric wires 6 that are led out there from (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-200010).
In the waterproof electrical connector 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the insulative housing 2 comprises a main housing 3 and a cover housing 4 which are both made of an insulating synthetic resin. The main housing 3 has a fitting section 5 that receives a contact, and an electric wire end covering section 7 that projects in a direction in which the electric wires 6 project, and that receives a connecting portion between a contact and the electric wires. Further, the fitting section 5 of the main housing 3 includes an opening for inserting a contact from an end on an opposite side to a side facing the mating connector. The cover housing 4 is positioned to block off the opening. The cover housing 4 and the electric wire end covering section 7 of the main housing 3 hold an electric wire connection portion of the contact and the electric wires 6.
The body 8 covers a part of the main housing 3 and the entire surface of the cover housing 4 to cover both a boundary portion between the main housing 3 and the cover housing 4, and portions holding the electric wires 6.
A seal member 9 is integrally arranged on an outer circumferential face in the vicinity of the tip of the main housing 3. The seal member 9 is formed by, for example, insert-molding silicone rubber onto the outer circumferential face of the already-formed main housing 3. Further, the seal member 9 may also be formed simultaneously and integrally with the main housing 3 by two-color injection molding.
However, according to the above described waterproof electrical connector 1, there is a problem in that the body 8 becomes detached from the main housing 3 and the cover housing 4. When the body 8 detached, waterproofness of the waterproof electrical connector 1 is compromised.
One factor that causes the detachment of the body 8 is a result of oil included in the seal member 9. The oil is provided on the distal end portion of the main housing 3, and when a worker manually handles the main housing 3 and the cover housing 4 during the process of manufacturing and assembling the waterproof electrical connector 1. The oil adheres to portions to which the body 8 is to be attached(for example, portions denoted by reference character A in FIG. 5A) of the main housing 3 and the cover housing 4.